Corp MSG: BLOOMBERG
Ghana Telecommunication Co. sold $200 million of bonds in the West African
nation's first corporate issue in dollars, three months after the government
issued its first international bonds.
Iroko Securities Ltd in London helped Ghana Telecomm sell five-year notes
with a coupon of 8.5 percent. London-based broker Exotx Ltd said in an
e-mailed statement today. Iroko's Mauritius-based parent and Exotix placed
the debt with more than 12 investors.
Ghana Telecom's issue "is proof of the purpose and the success of the
government and Ghana Eurobond issue, one objective of which was the ability
to establish a benchmark," Guy Essome, director of structured products for
Iroko Securities, said in the statement.
Ghana sold $750 million of 10-year notes in September. Emerging-market debt
has rallied after the slump in global credit markets sent JPMorgan Chase &
Co.'s benchmark EMBI Global Index to a nine-month low of 380.6 on August 16.
The index was at 406.8 today.
Ghana Telecom's unrated issue was priced to yield 1 percent more than the
Ghanaian government's bonds, according to today's statement. The government
securities are rated B+ by Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings, four levels
below investment grade.
The securities "restore Ghana Telecom's financial flexibility and access to
the vendor financing needed to support the much-needed upgrade and extension
of our fixed and mobile networks," Chief Financial Officer, Joe Owusu-Ansah
said in the statement.
Editors: Michael Shanahan, Andrew Reierson
December 17 2007 13:06:40
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